Saturday, April 20, 2013

This is a collection of postcards featuring ESCOLTA at the
turn-of-the-century

On the north bank of the Pasig river, just across the Walled
City, is a street known until today as Escolta. The name originated during the
British invasion when the British commander rode down this street always with his
escort called escolta.

Early in the 19th century, Escolta took over from the Parian
as the commercial hub of Manila. By the 1860s, its handsome' two- storey
buildings became the offices, shops and stalls for merchants, many of whom were foreigners who
flocked to the newly opened port of Manila. They were Sikh, Portuguese,
Mexican, Japanese and British merchants in addition to the already established
Spanish and Chinese merchants.

Caritelas along the busy Escolta street

There were several reasons why Escolta became a bustling
trade center. To begin with; there had to be a convenient place to receive the
goods that were coming in from ships-and Escolta was not far from the ports
themselves and was, in fact, right on the bank of the river Pasig. On this
river was ferried the goods that came from the provinces as well as the goods
that came from the ships that were anchored out on the bay.

Source: Ayala Museum Diorama Book

Escolta, the principal business street of Manila.

American automobiles parked at the sides of commercial stores and business offices along Escolta.